This quote spoke to me today. It was taken from the blog of Emily Freeman: Chatting at the Sky, A Place For Your Soul to Breathe.

“Peace is My continual gift to you … I have designed you to need Me moment by moment. As your awareness of your neediness increases, so does your realization of my abundant sufficiency. I can meet every one of your needs without draining My resources at all.”

Late this afternoon I responded to a knock at the door. A man greeted me warmly and explained to me that he was trying to earn money to stay at the Union Gospel Mission homeless shelter in St. Paul. He offered me his drivers license, social security card and Union Gospel Mission ID card as proof of his integrity. He offered to complete chores around my home such as pulling weeds etc. in exchange for money.

I excused myself and reached into my wallet pulling out a $10 bill. I told him to take the money for a night at the shelter. The bed is $6 and a locker $3. I noted a rolling suitcase on the sidewalk. He thanked me and went on his way.

So was I taken in by this man’s elaborate charade? I really don’t care. I know that many of my friends and acqaintences would chastise me for giving money. “He’ll use it to buy drugs, alcohol or cigarettes. ” Don’t nominate me for sainthood yet, because I didn’t empty my wallet as the woman in the temple did. But it is these types of situations that serve as a reminder to me that everything in life, including my personal income is a gift. By accepting these gifts we are called to care for the least among us.

In a column by Archbishop Harry Flynn published in the Catholic Spirit newspaper in 2005, he addresses a then recent decision to give money to a man begging at a stoplight.

“I decided that if I died that night and met Jesus Christ, I would rather have Jesus Christ say to me: “You were a victim of a scam,” rather than, “You passed someone by who was really hungry and needed your help.”

“If you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday!” -Isaiah Ben Amoz

Today I attended a scheduled meeting of a professional association to which I belong. Each meeting features a speaker on a topic that would be of interest to the group. Prior to my arriving I was not aware of the topic or the name of the scheduled speaker. As it turns out the topic was leadership. The speaker’s goal and that of his colleagues is to create a coalition of leaders within the business community thereby fostering “systemic global prosperity.”

Our speaker talked about exploring our authentic selves and doing the work that ignites the spark in us. He believes that “money is a measure of how many people you serve.” The more money we have, the greater our individual reach. When we intentionally pursue more earnings than we as individuals need then we are free to give to others.

Did someone call this guy in advance? Did he somehow stumble onto my blog post from yesterday? Irony or grace?

As I continue to struggle in my role as parent to a child with special needs, I am desperate to find the magical ‘how to” manuel. Despite the numerous books, blogs and reference articles I have poured over during the past 6 years, the manuel is elusive. Most days I yearn just to cope and get through the day. As a wise therapist once said “when all the children are in bed and nobody died, it has been a good day.” Today I reread an article from the December 2008 issue of The Catholic Spirit by Emilie Lemmons, a writer and Mother who faced terminal cancer. Although our situations are vastly different, her words brought me comfort and a yearning for the true peace that living them out would provide.

“What if I allow myself to put the outcome in God’s hands and just live intensely in the present, absorbing and embracing life as it happens?”